I know it’s a little early for a Fabulous Finds Friday, but I couldn’t wait to share these cards made with Graphic 45 papers. I’m a huge Graphic 45 fan, but these papers are so different from my “image” of the company’s metal products and embellies, I was immediately intrigued.

Sweet baby papers, but with a vintage flair — so Graphic 45! From the Little Darlings collection.

The wonderful rocking hourse image (Close To My Heart) was black embossed on a scrap, then cut with a Spellbinders die, as was the black layer. The background was stamped using the Hero Arts envelope lining stamp and speckled ornaments stamp in Memories Soft Sage. The edge of the text paper was distressed then inked with the same soft sage.

Is this a cutie or what? (baby words and self-stick lace by Hero Art). “Baby” was inked with aqua ColorBox pigment ink then clear embossed. The edges were distressed and inked with Hero Arts Soft Sand shadow ink.

For the next card, I face a real dilemma. These papers are two-sided and it almost killed me to cut up this adorable side:

But cut I did and here’s what happened:

Same basic techniques, same CTMH stamp. The lacey piece is from a knit blanket a friend gave me. The blanket itself was worn, torn and stained, so I cut off the edges. I thought about trimming the edge a bit more neatly, but decided I liked it a little ragged.

So many Fabulous Finds… so few Fridays! A few days ago I posted a piece about the chevron stamps and new images from Lawn Fawn and Technique Tuesday.

Here’s another use of the chevron (Lawn Fawn) paired with a fun happy birthday stamp from Technique Tuesday:

The fading, ombre look of the repeated chevron was actually a happy accident. I inked up the chevron for the top using a smoky blue chalk ink. But, heavens, I hadn’t cleaned my stamp very well, so it came out with a lot of black! I cleaned it again, re-inked with the smoky blue and stamped again. Hey, I thought, maybe I’m on to something here! I inked it again, but stamped it off a bit to lighten the color. Then I finished it on the bottom with a Marvy Matchables dye gray.

It took me all weekend (oh, what a burden!) but I managed to squeeze in some crafting time to play, er, work with some new — and adorable — stamps snagged at the Craft and Hobby Association trade show. These are some of the Fab Finds I wrote about in my CHA report for Crafts ‘n things magazine. (if the link doesn’t work, go to www.craftsnthings.com, click on newsletter, click on current issue. You may need to register, but it’s free.)

I love the design look of chevrons — those zig-zaggy lines that make such a style statement. Luckily, chevrons are still hot properties and I managed to snag a great set from Lawn Fawn. The clear set has three chevron designs. Combine these with wonderful new images from Technique Tuesday, and I’m in stamp heaven. I kept these cards simple because I was playing around with different looks and uses.

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The main image was stamped on Lawn Fawn paper with VersaMark, then white embossed, cut out and layered on black scrap. The chevron (Lawn Fawn) and the sentiment (Technique Tuesday) were stamped in the so-pretty Lagoon ink from Close To My Heart.)

(chevron: Lawn Fawn; image and sentiment, Technique Tuesday.)

That image speaks to me, so I wanted to use it in various ways.

For the above card I embossed the image in black, then used Faber-Castell PITT Artist pens for color. I scribbled them on a piece of plastic, then used a water brush to color the background.

I used a Sizzix embossing folder for the bottom half of the card (the large platform of the Spellbinders Grand Caliber was perfect for this because it was wide enough to let me place the folder just so.) The words were stamped and cut out individually, then mounted with foam tape. A few pearls and we’re done. (Images and sentiment from Technique Tuesday.)

One more quick use of that image:

Very simple; again combining Lawn Fawn’s darling paper airplanes clear stamps and sayings with the Technique Tuesday image that I adore.

I’ve been bursting, waiting to share all the great finds from the Craft & Hobby Association Trade show last month in Anaheim. Finally, I can spill some beans because my article about the hottest finds is posted on the Crafts ‘n things Web site here. (If that link doesn’t work, go to www.craftsnthings.com and click on the newsletter. It’s free, but you may need to register with your e-mail.)

I’ll be posting more photos here on my blog, along with some cards made from CHA goodies!

About

Roberta is a writer by trade, a crafter by accident. She was a contributing writer with The Rubber Stamper Magazine since its inception and now holds the same position at Crafts 'n Things. Read more about her in the About Me column.